The Box
by Brenna
Summary: Sam has finally had enough with Jack.


The Box

Title: The Box  
Author: Brenna (tkeefer6@home.com)  
Status: complete  
Category: Romance  
Spoilers: Everything through Season 4  
Rating: PG  
Archive: Heliopolis, all others ask.  
Content Warnings: none  
Summary: Sam has finally had enough.  
Disclaimer: Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Incoming Traveler!" reported the young air force technician on duty deep within the heart of Cheyenne Mountain as the inner ring of the Stargate slowly began to spin. "It's SG-1's signal, sir!"

"Open the iris, son," responded General Hammond tensing as he always did when one of his teams returned from a mission. The sound of metal scraping along metal could be heard throughout the room as the protective shield covering the 'gate retracted. This was quickly followed by the distinctive swoosh of the opening event horizon. As they watched from the control room, SG-1 appeared through the rippling curtain of the Stargate. Hammond felt the tension leave him as he watched the fourth member of SG-1 land on the ramp safe and unharmed. _'Thank God no letters to write today. No visits to the infirmary or the chapel'_ thought the general. He could see they didn't appear happy. At least the military portion of the quartet didn't appear happy.

"That's **_it_**!" screamed Major Carter. "I can't believe you, Colonel! What the hell do you think you were doing?"

"Me!?! I didn't get in a cat fight with that woman," shouted Colonel O'Neill right back. "What the hell were you fighting with her about anyway? For that matter, what the hell do you think you're doing right now? You're about this close to insubordination charges, Major," he informed her which earned him a deadly glare from the major in question.

"You were flirting with her, Colonel! It's a matriarchal society remember? That's why we were pretending **_I _**was our leader. She wanted to keep you as a 'gift.' While I'd **_dearly_** love to give you to her permanently, I didn't think the general would appreciate it if I left my commanding officer behind as a gift to the natives," snapped the major.

"You fought for my honor, Carter? I'm touched."

Hammond noticed Doctor Jackson, and most of the other personnel in the gate room, trying in vain to keep a straight face as the colonel and the major had it out yet again. Teal'c, or course, watched the exchange with his usual impassive face. _'This has got to stop before one of them kills the other,'_ thought the general. _'I'd hate to break up that team, but it looks like it's about to come to that.'_

"Welcome home SG-1.Get cleaned up. Debriefing is in 1 hour," Hammond announced over the intercom hoping to end the argument before it got really out of hand. With salutes from O'Neill and Carter and a nod of the head from Jackson and Teal'c, SG-1 walked off towards the waiting showers. Hammond sighed when he saw the argument between commander and 2IC continued as they walked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Colonel, may I speak to you for a moment in private?" asked Samantha Carter.

"Sure, Carter" replied Jack with a sigh. _'God, this is so hard. Where did we lose our friendship, Sam? I know we can't be more, but at least we were friends.'_ "I'll catch up with you guys in a minute," he said to the others as he turned to the major. "Let's go to my office." They walked quickly side by side through the concrete corridors of the SGC before reaching the cramped little room that Colonel O'Neill called his office. "So what's on your mind, Major?" Jack asked as he settled into the cheap government-issue chair behind his equally cheap government-issue desk.

Sam paused to collect her thoughts and gather her courage. "Do you still feel that way? Did you mean what you said?" she asked. "When we were being tested the second time with the zatarac detector."

Now it was Jack's turn to pause, thinking about the incident that took place more than a year earlier. He'd admitted that he cared for Carter more than he should while strapped to the damned Tok'ra device. She'd admitted to similar feelings, but she'd said it would stay in that room. "Yeah, I meant it, and I still feel that way" he replied quietly a pensive expression on his face. "Is that what all the fighting's been about lately? I know we never talked about it, but nothing's changed, Sam. We can't **_do_** anything about it because of the regs." Jack continued, the expression on his facing becoming even more pensive. _'Even if being with you is what I want more than breathing'_ he completed the thought silently.

"I can't accept that any more, Jack! We've done enough for God and country. And even the universe. I've put my life on hold for this damn place, and so have you! Enough is enough. I want something for me now."

"Sam…" began Jack only to be interrupted.

"No!!" she yelled. "We both know how dangerous our work is Jack. I don't want to die regretting this. Regretting that I loved you and never did anything about it. Never even told you. We have our own assigned beds in the infirmary for God's sake! I can tell which heart monitor I'm hooked up to by the sound of the beeps! SG-1 has been incredibly lucky…at some point that luck **_will_** run out. Daniel at least has his memories of Sha're to comfort him. We don't even have that. Just the half-truths we've allowed ourselves these last few years." Tears streaming down her face, Sam softly continued, "I'm going to General Hammond after the debriefing to ask for a discharge. I'm too valuable to the program for them to just let me walk away. They'll let me stay as a civilian. I want the chance to **_be_** with you, Jack." Without waiting for a response from the colonel, Major Carter walked out of the room heading for the showers.

O'Neill watched the major, his Sam, walk out of the room. _'Ah…hell. Now what do I do.'_ thought O'Neill as he opened the drawer to his desk to stare at one of the items hidden inside. _'Do I follow my heart or my head?' _He remembered his conversation with Jacob Carter when SG-1 had visited the Tok'ra so Sam could spend some time with her father.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, Jack...just what are your intentions towards my daughter?" asked Jacob after making sure they were alone. When he'd learned SG-1 would be arriving for a visit, he'd arranged for several other members of the To'kra to offer a distraction to the rest of the team so he could speak alone with his daughter's CO.

"'Scuse me? Ahh...General. You know there's nothing going on with your daughter and I," denied O'Neill aloud while he silently thought to himself, _'Oh God. I am **so** dead.'_

"Oh, I know nothing's going on. What I want to know is why the hell not. You're in love with her aren't you, son?"

"Whoa! I'm her CO. We can't have a personal relationship, you know that."

"Regs are made to be broken, and it's not as if it'll be the first time the two of you have broken them."

"I can't believe a general in the United States Air Force is telling me to break the fraternization regulations **_with his daughter_**!" Jack's voice rose with the last of his exclamation.

"I'm a **_retired_** general, and I'm speaking as a father who wants his daughter to be happy. She loves you too, Jack. Anise told me about the zatarc testing."

"Anise should have kept her mouth shut! Sam said we'd leave it in that room. I have to respect her wishes on that, sir. Sam's career is important to her. I won't jeopardize that!"

"You haven't denied you're in love with her."

"I can't," replied Jack quietly. "I am in love with her, and someday I hope we can express that love to each other. But I'm her CO, and until that changes we can't do anything about our feelings. Besides, I was the one who admitted how I felt during the zatarc testing. I don't know how Sam feels."

"I do. I asked her....she's in love with you. Don't wait too long, Jack. Life in the SGC isn't certain," he advised the younger man. "Sam's mother was taken from me before her time. I regret all the things we hadn't said to each other. All the things we'd planned that were never done. Don't wait like I did, until it's too late." Then he pulled a small box from inside his pocket and handed it to Jack. "For when the time **_is_** right."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Something was different between them, General Hammond realized as the debriefing began. The colonel was staring at Major Carter as if through sheer force of will he could make her understand something, and Carter wouldn't look at O'Neill at all. _'This is not good. I thought maybe if I left them alone they'd be able to work it out on their own, whatever it is'_ thought Hammond. _'But how do I fix the problem when I have no idea what's wrong?'_ he mused as Dr. Jackson continued with his explanation of the Amazon-like civilization the team had encountered on P2X-239. 

__

'Oh, God. Maybe I do know what's wrong,' thought the general as he watched the expressions play across the faces of two of his best people. "Alright. Good job, people! You have 48 hours downtime before you're scheduled to visit P49-284," said Hammond aloud bringing the debriefing to a close. All the while his thoughts continued to wind their way around the problem of what to do about Carter and O'Neill.

"Sir, may I have a word with you?" asked Major Carter as the others got up to take their leave.

Hammond nodded and resumed his seat at the table, only then noticing that Colonel O'Neill had made no move to leave either. _'I hope this isn't what I think it is. I just don't want to be right this time'_ thought the general with some trepidation.

__

'Damn! Janet's going to win our bet after all. I was sure Jack would be the one to go to the general first. I mean, he's had that box hidden in his desk for months now,' pondered Jackson as he left to find Dr. Frasier, a knowing expression on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Carter… Sam, don't do this," pleaded O'Neill. "Don't break up the team. Don't let it end like this, Sam."

__

'How bad is this?' wondered Hammond. _'Is she asking to be reassigned? Is she resigning? Carter's too valuable. I can't accept her resignation, and I don't want to have to reassign her either. I can't believe either of them would do something like this! Jack may be a little bit of a maverick at times, but he wouldn't risk his career or hers. Damn it, everyone knows they're in love. As long as they were discreet I could ignore it. Why are they doing this to me?'_

"Sir. Jack. How long have you had that box in your desk drawer?" asked Samantha so quietly General Hammond had to strain to hear. He was surprised to see O'Neill's eyes widen in shock before he closed them and bow his head defeated. Hammond didn't know what to make of this turn of events.

"How long have you known it was there?" returned Jack just as quietly not bothering to ask what box. 

"A few months," said Sam remembering the day she'd found it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Colonel?" questioned Sam as she entered her CO's office. "Sir, General Hammond needs that report from P42-943." As she said this, Sam realized that she spoke to no one.

__

'I'll just get it from his desk,' she thought as she walked around behind his desk _. 'No sense in letting him get into any more trouble with the general.'_ She quickly searched the papers on top of his desk. Not finding the report there, Sam opened the bottom drawer where she knew her CO kept his mission reports. Sitting on top of the stack of folders she saw a small box that looked suspiciously familiar to her. '_That's Dad's!'_ she thought as she picked it up. Sam opened the box to see the three objects resting inside along with an unfamiliar piece of paper. She laid it down on the desk before carefully unfolding the paper inside. 

_

> Jack,

_ _

> I hope to have spoken with you in person, but I send this letter as well. Please, son! I know you love my Sammy, and I know she loves you just as much. Don't let the regulations keep the two of you apart. I want to see the two of you happy. I want to walk my daughter down the aisle and give you her hand in marriage. I know because of the blending with Jolinar that Sam may never give me grandchildren, but that won't stop you from being a family. You and Sam have already created a family at the SGC. Daniel, Teal'c, and Janet are you family. I know in your hearts, Daniel and Teal'c are your brothers, and Janet, your sister. You call me Dad, but I also know in your hearts both you and Sam think of George as a father. Talk to him, son. George will help you find a way around the regulations. He will think no less of you and Sam that you have feelings for each other. If he can't help you, you and Sam will be welcomed in the Tok'ra. When Sam's mother died, I had many regrets, Jack. I regretted all the times my duty took me away from her. We spent so little of our lives together, but when we were together it was golden. I would give anything to have just one more moment with her to tell her I love her. I see the tension in you, Jack, and in Sam. Neither of you are happy now. Too afraid of hurting one another by breaking the regulations to tell each other how you feel. When she's gone, Jack, how much will you give for that one moment to tell her plainly how you feel? To tell her simply "I love you"? I don't like to think of you or my baby girl dying out here, but if it happens, Jack, I will find peace in knowing that you and Sam had your time together. Well, Selmak says this letter has rambled enough. She agrees with my, by the way, and wants to see you happy as well. Think about it, Jack. In the meantime, I give these into your safekeeping.

_

> Dad 

After reading the note, Sam felt both elated and guilty at the same time. _'Damnit! I want to tell him I know about this, but I can't!'_ she thought as she quickly replaced the box in the desk drawer_. 'I guess I just wait. If he's got it here, he must be thinking about it, right?' _she reasoned with herself. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All the fights and tension had started a few months ago. Whatever was in that box, it must be the reason. Hammond didn't know why, but at this moment he felt like he was intruding on something very private… and special. 

"I want that box and what it means. I want it with everything that's in me," breathed Sam into the silence, almost sobbing, staring at Jack with an intensity that Hammond had never seen before in Carter. Of the two, she was definitely the calmer. It was part of what made them such a good team. They balanced each other like two halves of a whole. "My career doesn't mean anything beside the promise of what's in that little box. If I can't have that, then I don't want to be here. It hurts too much." As she said this Sam turned to General Hammond. With her back ramrod straight, she said, "Sir, I am officially requesting a discharge. I would hope that I could remain at the SGC as a civilian, but if I can't, it doesn't change my decision."

"May I ask why?" questioned the general although by now he was beginning to see. "And what the Colonel has to do with your decision? What the hell is in this box you're talking about?"

At this question, she turned to O'Neill, a question in her eyes as well. For what seemed like an eternity to Hammond, they just stared at one another. Finally, Jack stood and walked slowly around the table to where Sam stood waiting. Stopping in front of her, he held her eyes for another long moment asking her with his eyes alone if she were sure. The expression in her eyes gave him the only answer he needed, then he reached into his pocket. General Hammond watched incredulously as O'Neill pulled a small, black, jeweler's box out of his pocket and sank to one knee. _'Months? He's had **that** for months? And she's known about it. Damn!'_ thought Hammond.

"Samantha Carter," he said as he opened the box to reveal the set of rings inside. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes" whispered Sam as Jack slid the ring onto her left hand. Jack quickly rose to take her into his arms.

"Sweet!" he whispered before lowering his mouth to hers. 

"Your request for a discharge is denied, Major. You're too valuable to the SGC to let you go that easily," barked Hammond, but the couple embracing in front of him didn't hear a word he said. They were too caught up in each other and this moment they thought would never come. "Colonel! Major! I hope I don't have to remind you that fraternization among personnel is against regulations."

"Sir, you know we would never…well Carter would never break the regs like that!" defended Jack. "And I would never risk her career like that. I love her too much to hurt her that way. She's worked too hard to get here." He said looking proudly at the woman who moments ago had agreed to become his wife. _'My wife. I can't believe this beautiful intelligent woman wants me,' _he thought.

"And what are you doing by proposing marriage to her in front of your commanding officer?" demanded Hammond though privately he couldn't help but be happy for them.

"Giving you a headache and making us happy?" Jack cheekily replied before continuing in a more serious tone, "Sir, we've known how we felt about each other for years, but we've waited. We've put those feelings on hold because we knew how much depends on us and the Stargate program. Sam's right. Neither of us wants to die out there on some godforsaken planet that doesn't even have a name regretting that we'd never had our chance."

Sam quietly added, "Or be the one who comes back alone knowing we'll never know what could have been."

Hammond stared at the couple before him. Remembering all they'd been through in the past few years. He thought about what Dr. Frasier wouldn't say about the Zatarac testing and why these two had failed. She'd told him they'd withheld what they'd been feeling on that mission, but she wouldn't say what those feelings were citing doctor patient confidentiality. Hammond could make a pretty good guess at that point though. He thought about the months Jack had spent on Edora. Funny, Jack was the one who was lost, but it was Sam they worried about. She'd worked herself so hard to bring him home. They'd all been worried she wouldn't be able to handle it if he'd died there. Then there were those two alternate realities. In one they'd been engaged, and in the other Sam was Jack's widow. _'God must be telling us something there. These two are meant to be together...more than any couple I've ever seen.'_

Hammond watched the tension leach out of Major Carter with the touch of O'Neill's comforting hand, placed at her back. Hammond had known O'Neill since he was a young nineteen-year old lieutenant fresh out of OCS. He knew that O'Neill's feelings were just as strong as those of his 2IC, but Jack kept them bottled up as his Black Op's training had taught him, as they had both apparently been doing for at least a year.

"Your request is still denied, Major." Hammond barked, and then he continued in a more gentle tone, "But we'll find a way around the regulations. You may have to transfer to another team, Sam. Besides, if I tried to stop you, you'd just go behind my back." Hammond could see from the expression in Jack's eyes that idea had already occurred to him. "That being the case, may I be the first to congratulate you?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waiting in the hall when the door opened was a very large group of SGC personnel. Carter and O'Neill turned to the general who sighed and nodded_. 'Well it's never been a very well kept secret anyway,'_ Hammond thought. "Ladies and gentlemen, join me in congratulating Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter on their engagement," he announced as the crowd gathered before them began to cheer.

"It's about time!" cried Dr. Jackson as he enveloped his two friends in a hug. He was quickly pushed out of the way as others came forward to congratulate them. "Ferretti you owe me a hundred bucks!"

"Let me see the ring," demanded Janet as she and the other women of the SGC pushed close to look as Sam showed off her ring.

"It was my mother's. Speaking of which, how did you get it, Jack?"

"Ahh...remember a few months ago when we visited the Tok'ra. Your dad cornered me to ask me what my intentions were."

"You're kidding right?" she asked. "He didn't actually ask if you were having a relationship with me?"

"No, he asked why the hell I **_wasn't_** having a relationship with you."

"Oh my god! I'll kill him. How could he do that?" Sam screamed in rage while around her SGC personnel who knew General Carter chuckled.

"No you won't, Sam. He did it because he loves you and wants you to be happy. He gave me the rings and told me not to wait too long. My tour's up in 3 months. I was going to retire then so I could ask you."

"Like hell you're retiring, Colonel!" barked Hammond. "You're just as valuable to the SGC as Carter. I won't let her resign, and I'm not letting you retire. You two just let me worry about the regs." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colonel O'Neill tugged nervously at the collar of his uniform as he stood waiting. 

"Stop that, Jack!" ordered General Hammond from his place next to Daniel and Teal'c.

"Yes, sir" Jack replied automatically, but he dropped his hand away from his collar. "What's taking so long?"

"This is her day, Jack. It goes by her schedule and nobody else's."

"Yeah."

Several more minutes of waiting went by before the harpist began the music and everyone crowded into the church turned to look down the aisle. Walking slowly down it hand in hand were Sam's young niece carrying a basket of rose petals and her nephew carrying the pillow on which the two rings rested. Following behind them was Cassandra Frasier who had been so proud at being asked to be a bride's maid in the wedding. As the younger children reached the front of the church Cassandra's mother, Janet, started her walk up the aisle as matron of honor. The music changed to the familiar "Wedding March" as she reached her place at the front of the church, and Sam began her walk up the aisle on her proud father's arm wearing the same dress her mother had been married in many years ago. 

__

'She looks so beautiful,' thought Jack. _'I can't believe General Hammond made it happen. He said he'd take care of the regs, and he did. I don't know what he said to the President and the JCS's, but whatever it was it worked.' _Jack turned to face Sam as she and her father reached him at the front of the church. 

As Jacob placed Sam's hand in Jack's, he whispered to Jack, "I couldn't have chosen a better man for my baby girl." He then turned to kiss Sam on the cheek. Whispering in her ear as he did so, "I'm so happy for you, baby." Jacob stood back and took his seat next to Mark and his wife in the front pew. The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur for Sam and Jack. Their attention was focused solely on one another as they repeated their vows.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present Colonel Jonathan Charles and Major Samantha O'Neill." 

The newlyweds led the procession back down the aisle of the church to form the line to receive the well wishes of their guests as they left the church. Finally more than an hour after they had first walked back down the aisle, it was time for them to leave the church through the military arch. They could only laugh at the sheer number of SGC personnel who had lined up outside the church to participate in this tradition. Traditionally, only six or eight officers would form the arch under which they would pass, but none of the officers present would step aside. The two generals, Carter and Hammond, stood opposite one another at the beginning of the double line of officers, and the two lieutenants who assisted Sam in the lab formed the end of the long double row of men and women in uniform.

"Center Face" ordered Hammond and the two lines turned to face each other. "Arch Sabers!" Sam and Jack walked under the arch formed by their fellow officers.

"You tap me on the butt, Arrons, I'll have you scrubbing bedpans for Dr. Frasier for the next decade," Sam warned as they approached her assistant who blushed and wisely decided not to perform that part of the tradition causing Jack to laugh. His laughter was cut off though as the two young lieutenants dropped their sabers to block the newlyweds passage. Jack didn't even wait for the two to demand it before he was kissing his bride.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, Major O'Neill, what do you think of your honeymoon so far?"

"It's perfect, Jack" Sam replied as she looked up at the triple moons in the sky above them. She leaned back against her new husband as she looked around the campsite Jack had gotten Ferretti and the rest of SG-2 to set up for them. They had everything they'd need to stay here on this paradise world for the next 14 day. Sam closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the waves lapping against the shore a few hundred yards from their camp. _'Tomorrow we'll have to spend some time on that beach,' _she thought, _'but not tonight....' _


End file.
